CANADIAN, Okla. — Arrest info and neighbors' accounts surrounding a woman's killing near Lake Eufaula Nov. 1 offer conflicting details from an official statement originally sent to 2 News about the homicide.
"When I woke up there was yellow tape around the whole area," Debbie Cox told 2 News on Nov. 8, one week after Lori Jo Gardner was killed in the early morning hours at a home her family told 2 News she owned and rented out to two women.
Choctaw Nation said because the victim and suspects are tribal citizens, tribal law enforcement and FBI have conducted the homicide investigation. updates while the FBI leads the investigation.
Gardner's family told 2 News Nov. 4 Lori flew into Green Country from Las Vegas to resolve unpaid rent to the house, located in the Arrowhead Estates community.
- Previous coverage>>> 'We're getting zero answers': Family heartbroken following homicide near Lake Eufaula
The family said a coroner told them her cause of death was from blunt force trauma.
However, while Choctaw Nation's original statement said Gardner was taken to the hospital and later pronounced dead, Cox said she observed law enforcement standing outside into the daylight hours Nov. 1 without entering the house, telling her they "had to wait for a warrant" to enter.
"The comment was made (by a deputy to my family member and I), 'If it was July, she would be smelling by now," Cox said.
2 News' emails on Nov. 6 with the FBI and Choctaw Nation about the claims were not addressed.
Additionally, despite no announcements of any arrests surrounding the incident, 2 News obtained an executed arrest warrant from the afternoon hours of Nov. 1, the same day as Gardner's death, served by FBI and Choctaw Lighthorse agents.
Pittsburg County Sheriff's Office, while deferring details about the death to tribal authorities and the FBI, confirmed its jail briefly admitted 19-year-old Sienna Gilmore at its jail that evening for misdemeanor obstruction of justice. The charge was for allegedly "purposely omitting information during an interview that (Gilmore) struck Lori Gardner with an umbrella."
According to the affidavit, the crime is punishable by imprisonment for one year and/or a fine. Gilmore bonded out for $500, according to the sheriff's office records. She has an arraignment currently set in tribal court for January 7, 2027, according to a Choctaw Nation spokesperson.
"To have someone killed in your backyard is kind of scary. And what's even more scary is the people that supposedly done is still coming in and out over there," Cox said, adding that neighbors around the house have seen the tenants periodically in the last week retrieving and even burning belongings.
Cox said she's fearful for the community knowing those possibly involved could be nearby.
"It doesn't make it you know any more comfortable to know that whatever happened happened, and it's not been corrected yet," Cox said.
The FBI's Oklahoma City office spokesperson told 2 News via email Nov. 6, "Any potential charges will be announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, typically via press release. I cannot provide further comment as this is an active investigation."
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